India’s number one apparel manufacturer and exporter Shahi Exports has come up with its first-ever Sustainability Report. The report covers the company’s overall operations under direct operational control in India for FY 2021-2022. This is the first time that India’s only apparel manufacturer has launched a sustainability report (so far companies like Aditya Birla, Arvind etc., having presence in both apparel manufacturing and retail, have released their sustainability reports).
The 76-page report highlights and reflects the company’s sustainability policies, initiatives, programmes and results against the identified material topics. This report has been developed in adherence to reporting principles as per Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards–Core-2020 as well as other reporting frameworks, including United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), National Guideline for Responsible Business Conduct (NGRBC), Government of India.
Regarding energy and emissions, the company has a target of achieving renewable electricity of 100 per cent by FY 2026 which is currently 68 per cent, while for carbon-neutral energy, the aim is 50 per cent by FY 2026 (currently 35 per cent). Having set up its solar power plants, the company has mitigated approximately 400,000 MT of carbon emissions between 2018-2022.
In 2021, the company’s CSR projects focused on enhancing education, improving public health and promoting environmental and community management. Shahi aims to reach thousands of women with menstrual, sexual, reproductive and maternal health awareness and services. Similarly, its efforts in expanding green cover, providing migration support and STEM education continue in full swing.
In the company’s garment factories, energy intensity, i.e., energy consumed per piece, remained the same between FY 2019 and FY 2021. However, emission intensity, i.e., emissions produced per piece, decreased by 14 per cent during that time. This is a direct result of raising the share of carbon-neutral energy in garment factories and adopting energy efficiency measures such as:
- Replacing T8 and T5 fluorescent lamps with LED
- Replacing sewing machine clutch motors with servo motors
- Fitting Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs) in equipment
- Installing energy-efficient machinery for sewing, washing and other utilities
- Installing occupancy sensors in lesser-used areas
- Installing skylights, rooftop ventilators and aluminium insulated rooftops
- With regard to recycled water used in garment processing (factories), the target is 85 per cent by FY 2024 (currently 80 per cent). At present, recycled water used in textile processing (mills) is 68 per cent.
- 1,500 kg of virgin polybags were replaced with recycled polybags in FY 2021 and Shahi is expanding this initiative further as per the report.
“I am proud to be presenting to you Shahi’s first sustainability report. For nearly five decades, right from when my mother started the company as a small home workshop, Shahi has put people and the planet at the forefront of business strategy. Sustainability has remained a key pillar of success over the years. In a fast-changing global environment, our ‘Responsible For’ framework guides our actions in line with our values. Our key stakeholders such as our customers, employees, business partners, suppliers and civil society organisations support us in achieving our goals,” says Harish Ahuja, Chairperson and MD, Shahi Exports
Regarding Governance, the company targets factories covered under SLCP (Social and Labour Convergence Programme) 100 per cent by FY ’24 and factories with Inache grievance redressal tool also in the same time frame.
The company’s 69 per cent permanent employees are females and 46 per cent of females are in supervisory roles. It also has 80+ centres for skill training. In FY 2021, all its applicable employees underwent performance appraisals guided by open and helpful feedback. By 2024, the company has a target to train 65,000 community women in soft skills and technical skills, while in FY ’21, it trained 44,000 community women. The company will train 300 people in leadership roles against unconscious bias and it will be initiated in FY 2023.
With regard to the use of sustainable raw material, 26 per cent of sustainable fabric and 46 per cent of sustainable yarn are being used. The company segregated its cotton waste (100 per cent in composition) and shared it with Usha Yarns for mechanical recycling. The recycled cotton fibre was then combined with recycled polyester blended yarns and delivered back to Shahi for knitting, finishing and garment production. The project proved to be economically viable for manufacturers and recyclers as it enabled higher-quality recycled products. Shahi Exports recycled 38,447 kg or 84,761 pounds of cotton-cutting waste through this partnership.
The report also highlights that by deploying best-in-class technologies such as e-Flow and G2 Ozone, the material-liquid ratio (MLR) has reduced from 1:6 to 1:1. Through these measures, Shahi uses 30 litres of water on an average on per pair of jeans.
